Gabriel Zuchtreigel, Director of Pompeii: Archaeology is the most democratic form of history

Michael Berkeley speaks to Gabriel Zuchtreigel, Director of Pompeii in Southern Italy, one of the world’s most important archaeological sites.

History, he says, comes alive through archaeology, helping us to appreciate our shared humanity with those who lived thousands of years ago, and providing a more democratic way of learning about the past. Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted and buried Pompeii in ash and pumice, did not distinguish between the wealthy and the poor in its victims.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel was appointed Director of Pompeii in 2021, and has since begun a major excavation, and made a number of significant finds. But it is walking around the site at night, emptied of the crowds, that he feels the ancient city come alive. It is as if, he says, the inhabitants only left a few minutes ago.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including with artist Doris Salcedo and author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Michael Berkeley Producers: Clare Walker and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Gabriel Zuchtreigel Credit: Ivan Romano/Getty Images)

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